Temporal Variability of Fair-Weather Cumulus Statistics at the ACRF SGP Site

Abstract Continental fair-weather cumuli exhibit significant diurnal, day-to-day, and year-to-year variability. This study describes the climatology of cloud macroscale properties, over the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site. The diurnal cycle of cloud fraction, cloud-base height, cloud-top height, and cloud thickness were well defined. The cloud fraction reached its maximum value near 1400 central standard time. The average cloud-base height increased throughout the day, while the average cloud thickness decreased with time. In contrast to the other cloud properties, the average cloud-chord length remained nearly constant throughout the day. The sensitivity of the cloud properties to the year-to-year variability of precipitation and day-to-day changes in the height of the lifting condensation level (zLCL) and surface fluxes were compared. The cloud-base height was found to be sensitive to both the year, zLCL, and the surface fluxes of heat and moisture; the cloud thickness was found to be more sensitive to the year than to zLCL; the cloud fraction was sensitive to both the low-level moisture and the surface sensible heat flux; and cloud-chord length was sensitive to zLCL. Distributions of the cloud-chord length over the ACRF SGP site were computed and were well fit by an exponential distribution. The contribution to the total cloud fraction by clouds of each cloud-chord length was computed, and it was found that the clouds with a chord length of about 1 km contributed most to the observed cloud fraction. This result is similar to observations made with other remote sensing instruments or in modeling studies, but it is different from aircraft observations of the contribution to the total cloud fraction by clouds of different sizes.

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Factors Controlling the Vertical Extent of Fair-Weather Shallow Cumulus Clouds over Land: Investigation of Diurnal-Cycle Observations Collected at the ARM Southern Great Plains Site

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences ◽

10.1175/jas-d-12-0131.1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 70 (4) ◽

pp. 1297-1315 ◽

Cited By ~ 49

Author(s):

Yunyan Zhang ◽

Stephen A. Klein

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Great Plains ◽

Diurnal Cycle ◽

Sensible Heat Flux ◽

Surface Fluxes ◽

Cloud Base ◽

Fair Weather ◽

Southern Great Plains ◽

Vertical Extent ◽

Thin Cloud

Abstract Summertime observations for 13 yr at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site are used to study fair-weather shallow cumuli (ShCu). To roughly separate forced from active ShCu, days are categorized into “thin-” or “thick-” ShCu days according to whether the daytime-average cloud depth exceeds 300 m. By comparing diurnal-cycle composites of these two regimes, the authors document differences in cloud properties and their radiative impacts. The differences in environmental conditions provide clues as to what controls ShCu vertical extent. Higher boundary layer (BL) relative humidity (RH) is found on thick-cloud days, associated with large-scale moisture advection before sunrise. This higher BL RH not only contributes to a lower cloud base but also to the penetrating ability of an air parcel to reach higher levels, and thus leads to larger cloud vertical extent. Although not as significant as BL RH, ShCu vertical extent also varies with thermal stability and surface fluxes. Enhanced stability above cloud on thin-cloud days may limit cloud vertical extent. A larger sensible heat flux on thin-cloud days encourages greater entrainment of dry air into the BL, whereas a larger latent heat flux on thick-cloud days helps sustain higher afternoon BL RH. These heat flux differences help maintain the BL RH differences that appear to control cloud vertical extent. This study provides observational evidence that forced clouds are related to BL large-eddy overshoots limited by a stronger inversion whereas higher moisture and a weaker stability above favor active cumuli with greater vertical extent.

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A comparison of ship and satellite measurements of cloud properties with global climate model simulations in the southeast Pacific stratus deck

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-10-6527-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 10 (14) ◽

pp. 6527-6536 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

M. A. Brunke ◽

S. P. de Szoeke ◽

P. Zuidema ◽

X. Zeng

Keyword(s):

Diurnal Cycle ◽

Climate Model ◽

Global Climate ◽

Global Climate Model ◽

Cloud Fraction ◽

Cloud Base ◽

Liquid Water Path ◽

Cloud Properties ◽

Southeast Pacific ◽

Cloud Thickness

Abstract. Here, liquid water path (LWP), cloud fraction, cloud top height, and cloud base height retrieved by a suite of A-train satellite instruments (the CPR aboard CloudSat, CALIOP aboard CALIPSO, and MODIS aboard Aqua) are compared to ship observations from research cruises made in 2001 and 2003–2007 into the stratus/stratocumulus deck over the southeast Pacific Ocean. It is found that CloudSat radar-only LWP is generally too high over this region and the CloudSat/CALIPSO cloud bases are too low. This results in a relationship (LWP~h9) between CloudSat LWP and CALIPSO cloud thickness (h) that is very different from the adiabatic relationship (LWP~h2) from in situ observations. Such biases can be reduced if LWPs suspected to be contaminated by precipitation are eliminated, as determined by the maximum radar reflectivity Zmax>−15 dBZ in the apparent lower half of the cloud, and if cloud bases are determined based upon the adiabatically-determined cloud thickness (h~LWP1/2). Furthermore, comparing results from a global model (CAM3.1) to ship observations reveals that, while the simulated LWP is quite reasonable, the model cloud is too thick and too low, allowing the model to have LWPs that are almost independent of h. This model can also obtain a reasonable diurnal cycle in LWP and cloud fraction at a location roughly in the centre of this region (20° S, 85° W) but has an opposite diurnal cycle to those observed aboard ship at a location closer to the coast (20° S, 75° W). The diurnal cycle at the latter location is slightly improved in the newest version of the model (CAM4). However, the simulated clouds remain too thick and too low, as cloud bases are usually at or near the surface.

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The relevance of aerosol optical depth to cumulus fraction changes: a five-year climatology at the ACRF SGP site

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-7-11797-2007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 11797-11837 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

E. I. Kassianov ◽

L. K. Berg ◽

C. Flynn ◽

S. McFarlane

Keyword(s):

Aerosol Optical Depth ◽

Optical Depth ◽

Great Plains ◽

Value Added ◽

Cloud Fraction ◽

Satellite Observations ◽

Time Dependent ◽

Size Dependent ◽

Cloud Properties ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

Abstract. The objective of this study is to investigate, by observational means, the magnitude and sign of the actively discussed relationship between cloud fraction N and aerosol optical depth τa. Collocated and coincident ground-based measurements and Terra/Aqua satellite observations at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site form the basis of this study. The N–τa relationship occurred in a specific 5-year dataset of fair-weather cumulus (FWC) clouds and mostly non-absorbing aerosols. To reduce possible contamination of the aerosols on the cloud properties estimation (and vice versa), we use independent datasets of τa and N obtained from the Multi-filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR) measurements and from the ARM Active Remotely Sensed Clouds Locations (ARSCL) value-added product, respectively. Optical depth of the FWC clouds τcld and effective radius of cloud droplets re are obtained from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. We found that relationships between cloud properties (N,τcld, re) and aerosol optical depth are time-dependent (morning versus afternoon). Observed time-dependent changes of cloud properties, associated with aerosol loading, control the variability of surface radiative fluxes. In comparison with pristine clouds, the polluted clouds are more transparent in the afternoon due to smaller cloud fraction, smaller optical depth and larger droplets. As a result, the corresponding correlation between the surface radiative flux and τa is positive (warming effect of aerosol). Also we found that relationship between cloud fraction and aerosol optical depth is cloud size dependent. The cloud fraction of large clouds (larger than 1 km) is relatively insensitive to the aerosol amount. In contrast, cloud fraction of small clouds (smaller than 1 km) is strongly positively correlated with τa. This suggests that an ensemble of polluted clouds tends to be composed of smaller clouds than a similar one in a pristine environment. One should be aware of these time- and size-dependent features when qualitatively comparing N–τa relationships obtained from the satellite observations, surface measurements, and model simulations.

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Vertical Velocity Statistics in Fair-Weather Cumuli at the ARM TWP Nauru Climate Research Facility

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/2010jcli3449.1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 23 (24) ◽

pp. 6590-6604 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Pavlos Kollias ◽

Bruce Albrecht

Keyword(s):

Boundary Layer ◽

Numerical Models ◽

Radar Data ◽

Cloud Fraction ◽

Cloud Base ◽

Fair Weather ◽

Research Facility ◽

Climate Research ◽

Velocity Statistics ◽

Air Motion

Abstract Fair-weather cumuli are fundamental in regulating the vertical structure of water vapor and entropy in the lowest 2–3 km of the earth’s atmosphere over vast areas of the oceans. In this study, a long record of profiling cloud radar observations at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) at Nauru Island is used to investigate cloud vertical air motion statistics over an 8-yr observing period. Appropriate processing of the observed low radar reflectivities provides radar volume samples that contain only small cloud droplets; thus, the Doppler velocities are used as air motion tracers. The technique is applied to shallow boundary layer clouds (less than 1000 m thick) during the 1999–2007 period when radar data are available. Using the boundary layer winds from the soundings obtained at the Nauru ACRF, the fair-weather cumuli fields are classified in easterly and westerly boundary layer wind regimes. This distinction is necessary to separate marine-forced (westerlies) from land-forced (easterlies) shallow clouds because of a well-studied island effect at the Nauru ACRF. The two regimes exhibit large diurnal differences in cloud fraction and cloud dynamics as manifested by the analysis of the hourly averaged vertical air motion statistics. The fair-weather cumuli fields associated with easterlies exhibit a strong diurnal cycle in cloud fraction and updraft strength and fraction, indicating a strong influence of land-forced clouds. In contrast over the fair-weather cumuli with oceanic origin, land-forced clouds are characterized by uniform diurnal cloudiness and persistent updrafts at the cloud-base level. This study provides a unique observational dataset appropriate for testing fair-weather cumulus mass flux and turbulence parameterizations in numerical models.

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Mass flux estimates and their relationship to cloud-base cloudiness during the EUREC4A campaign

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-4804 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Raphaela Vogel ◽

Sandrine Bony ◽

Anna Lea Albright ◽

Bjorn Stevens ◽

Geet George ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Flux ◽

Cloud Cover ◽

Climate Models ◽

Cloud Fraction ◽

Cloud Feedback ◽

Surface Fluxes ◽

Cloud Base ◽

Entrainment Rate ◽

Cumulus Cloud ◽

Total Cloud Cover

The trade-cumulus cloud feedback in climate models is mostly driven by changes in cloud-base cloudiness, which can largely be attributed to model differences in the strength of lower-tropospheric mixing. Using observations from the recent EUREC4A field campaign, we test the hypothesis that enhanced lower-tropospheric mixing dries the lower cloud layer and reduces near-base cloudiness. The convective mass flux at cloud base is used as a proxy for the strength of convective mixing and is estimated as the residual of the subcloud layer mass budget, which is derived from dropsondes intensively launched along a circle of ~200 km diameter. The cloud-base cloud fraction is measured with horizontally-pointing lidar and radar from an aircraft flying near cloud base within the circle area. Additional airborne, ground- and ship-based radar, lidar and in-situ measurements are used to estimate the total cloud cover, the surface fluxes and to validate the consistency of the approach.Preliminary mass flux estimates have reasonable mean values of about 15 mm/s. 3- circle (i.e. 3h) averaged estimates range between 0-40 mm/s and reveal substantial day-to-day and daily variability. The day-to-day variability in the mass flux is mostly due to variability in the mesoscale vertical velocity, whereas the entrainment rate mostly explains variability on the daily timescale, consistent with previous large-eddy simulations. We find the mass flux to be positively correlated to both the cloud-base cloud fraction and the total cloud cover (R=0.55 and R~0.4, respectively). Other indicators of lower-tropospheric mixing due to convection and mesoscale circulations also suggest positive relationships between mixing and cloudiness. Implications of these analyses for testing the hypothesized mechanism of positive trade-cumulus cloud feedback will be discussed.

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A 19-Month Record of Marine Aerosol–Cloud–Radiation Properties Derived from DOE ARM Mobile Facility Deployment at the Azores. Part I: Cloud Fraction and Single-Layered MBL Cloud Properties

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/jcli-d-13-00553.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 27 (10) ◽

pp. 3665-3682 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Xiquan Dong ◽

Baike Xi ◽

Aaron Kennedy ◽

Patrick Minnis ◽

Robert Wood

Keyword(s):

Boundary Layer ◽

High Pressure ◽

Liquid Water ◽

Mixed Boundary ◽

Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽

Low Pressure ◽

Cloud Fraction ◽

Cloud Base ◽

Microphysical Properties ◽

Cloud Properties

Abstract A 19-month record of total and single-layered low (<3 km), middle (3–6 km), and high (>6 km) cloud fractions (CFs) and the single-layered marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud macrophysical and microphysical properties was generated from ground-based measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) Azores site between June 2009 and December 2010. This is the most comprehensive dataset of marine cloud fraction and MBL cloud properties. The annual means of total CF and single-layered low, middle, and high CFs derived from ARM radar and lidar observations are 0.702, 0.271, 0.01, and 0.106, respectively. Greater total and single-layered high (>6 km) CFs occurred during the winter, whereas single-layered low (<3 km) CFs were more prominent during summer. Diurnal cycles for both total and low CFs were stronger during summer than during winter. The CFs are bimodally distributed in the vertical with a lower peak at ~1 km and a higher peak between 8 and 11 km during all seasons, except summer when only the low peak occurs. Persistent high pressure and dry conditions produce more single-layered MBL clouds and fewer total clouds during summer, whereas the low pressure and moist air masses during winter generate more total and multilayered clouds, and deep frontal clouds associated with midlatitude cyclones. The seasonal variations of cloud heights and thickness are also associated with the seasonal synoptic patterns. The MBL cloud layer is low, warm, and thin with large liquid water path (LWP) and liquid water content (LWC) during summer, whereas during winter it is higher, colder, and thicker with reduced LWP and LWC. The cloud LWP and LWC values are greater at night than during daytime. The monthly mean daytime cloud droplet effective radius re values are nearly constant, while the daytime droplet number concentration Nd basically follows the LWC variation. There is a strong correlation between cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration NCCN and Nd during January–May, probably due to the frequent low pressure systems because upward motion brings more surface CCN to cloud base (well-mixed boundary layer). During summer and autumn, the correlation between Nd and NCCN is not as strong as that during January–May because downward motion from high pressure systems is predominant. Compared to the compiled aircraft in situ measurements during the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX), the cloud microphysical retrievals in this study agree well with historical aircraft data. Different air mass sources over the ARM Azores site have significant impacts on the cloud microphysical properties and surface CCN as demonstrated by great variability in NCCN and cloud microphysical properties during some months.

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Statistical Characteristics of Cloud Heights over Lanzhou, China from Multiple Years of Micro-Pulse Lidar Observation

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12111415 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 1415

Author(s):

Xianjie Cao ◽

Gefei Lu ◽

Mengqi Li ◽

Jiayun Wang

Keyword(s):

Peak Height ◽

Statistical Characteristics ◽

Cloud Base ◽

Maximum Frequency ◽

Micro Pulse Lidar ◽

Autumn And Winter ◽

Cloud Thickness ◽

High Clouds ◽

Cloud Base Height ◽

Observation Period

The macroscopic characteristics of clouds over Lanzhou, China were investigated using micro-pulse lidar data from September 2005 to November 2011. The results show that the mean of the cloud base height, cloud peak height, cloud top height and cloud thickness during the observation was 4.03 km, 4.81 km, 5.50 km and 1.47 km, respectively; the maximum frequency of the cloud base height, cloud peak height, cloud top height and cloud thickness was 25.7% in the range of 1–2 km, 16.2% in the range of 2–3 km, 14.6% in the range of 2–3 km and 42.2% in the range of 1–2 km, respectively; the maximum frequency of cloud base height was 24.2%, 24.6%, 29.7% and 21.4% in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively, all in the range of 1–2 km, and middle clouds occurred most frequently at 41.4%, followed by low clouds (33.7%) and high clouds (24.9%) during the observation period; the maximum frequency of cloud peak height was 15.8% in the range of 3–4 km, 18% in the range of 4–5 km, 20% in the range of 2–3 km in autumn and 18.6% in the range of 5–6 km in winter; the maximum frequency of cloud top height was 14% in the range of 3–4 km in spring, 16% in the range of 4–5 km in summer, 20.1% in the range of 2–3 km in autumn and 17.8% in the range of 7–8 km in winter; the maximum frequency of cloud thickness was 44.9%, 35.6% and 52% in the range of 1–2 km in spring, summer and winter, respectively, while it was 44.9% in the range of 0–1 km in autumn; the cloud thickness was mostly less than 3 km; generally, the thicker of cloud, the less the frequency.

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Lagrangian Evolution of the Northeast Pacific Marine Boundary Layer Structure and Cloud during CSET

Monthly Weather Review ◽

10.1175/mwr-d-19-0053.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 147 (12) ◽

pp. 4681-4700 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Johannes Mohrmann ◽

Christopher S. Bretherton ◽

Isabel L. McCoy ◽

Jeremy McGibbon ◽

Robert Wood ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Marine Boundary Layer ◽

Layer Structure ◽

Cloud Droplet ◽

Reanalysis Data ◽

Cloud Fraction ◽

Surface Fluxes ◽

Strategy Analysis ◽

Air Masses ◽

Cloud Properties ◽

Wide Range

Abstract Flight data from the Cloud System Evolution over the Trades (CSET) campaign over the Pacific stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition are organized into 18 Lagrangian cases suitable for study and future modeling, made possible by the use of a track-and-resample flight strategy. Analysis of these cases shows that 2-day Lagrangian coherence of long-lived species (CO and O3) is high (r = 0.93 and 0.73, respectively), but that of subcloud aerosol, MBL depth, and cloud properties is limited. Although they span a wide range in meteorological conditions, most sampled air masses show a clear transition when considering 2-day changes in cloudiness (−31% averaged over all cases), MBL depth (+560 m), estimated inversion strength (EIS; −2.2 K), and decoupling, agreeing with previous satellite studies and theory. Changes in precipitation and droplet number were less consistent. The aircraft-based analysis is augmented by geostationary satellite retrievals and reanalysis data along Lagrangian trajectories between aircraft sampling times, documenting the evolution of cloud fraction, cloud droplet number concentration, EIS, and MBL depth. An expanded trajectory set spanning the summer of 2015 is used to show that the CSET-sampled air masses were representative of the season, with respect to EIS and cloud fraction. Two Lagrangian case studies attractive for future modeling are presented with aircraft and satellite data. The first features a clear Sc–Cu transition involving MBL deepening and decoupling with decreasing cloud fraction, and the second undergoes a much slower cloud evolution despite a greater initial depth and decoupling state. Potential causes for the differences in evolution are explored, including free-tropospheric humidity, subsidence, surface fluxes, and microphysics.

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Simulating the IHOP_2002 Fair-Weather CBL with the WRF-ARW–Noah Modeling System. Part I: Surface Fluxes and CBL Structure and Evolution along the Eastern Track

Monthly Weather Review ◽

10.1175/2009mwr3003.1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 138 (3) ◽

pp. 722-744 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Margaret A. LeMone ◽

Fei Chen ◽

Mukul Tewari ◽

Jimy Dudhia ◽

Bart Geerts ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Land Surface ◽

Roughness Length ◽

Vegetation Type ◽

Sensible Heat Flux ◽

Surface Fluxes ◽

Weather Data ◽

Surface Model ◽

Fair Weather ◽

Convective Boundary

Abstract Fair-weather data from the May–June 2002 International H2O Project (IHOP_2002) 46-km eastern flight track in southeast Kansas are compared to simulations using the advanced research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled to the Noah land surface model (LSM), to gain insight into how the surface influences convective boundary layer (CBL) fluxes and structure, and to evaluate the success of the modeling system in representing CBL structure and evolution. This offers a unique look at the capability of the model on scales the length of the flight track (46 km) and smaller under relatively uncomplicated meteorological conditions. It is found that the modeled sensible heat flux H is significantly larger than observed, while the latent heat flux (LE) is much closer to observations. The slope of the best-fit line ΔLE/ΔH to a plot of LE as a function of H, an indicator of horizontal variation in available energy H + LE, for the data along the flight track, was shallower than observed. In a previous study of the IHOP_2002 western track, similar results were explained by too small a value of the parameter C in the Zilitinkevich equation used in the Noah LSM to compute the roughness length for heat and moisture flux from the roughness length for momentum, which is supplied in an input table; evidence is presented that this is true for the eastern track as well. The horizontal variability in modeled fluxes follows the soil moisture pattern rather than vegetation type, as is observed; because the input land use map does not capture the observed variation in vegetation. The observed westward rise in CBL depth is successfully modeled for 3 of the 4 days, but the actual depths are too high, largely because modeled H is too high. The model reproduces the timing of observed cumulus cloudiness for 3 of the 4 days. Modeled clouds lead to departures from the typical clear-sky straight line relating surface H to LE for a given model time, making them easy to detect. With spatial filtering, a straight slope line can be recovered. Similarly, larger filter lengths are needed to produce a stable slope for observed fluxes when there are clouds than for clear skies.

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Research on Retrieval of Atmospheric Temperature and Humidity Profiles from combined Ground-based Microwave Radiometer and Cloud Radar Observations

10.5194/amt-2016-286 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yunfei Che ◽

Shuqing Ma ◽

Fenghua Xing ◽

Siteng Li ◽

Yaru Dai

Keyword(s):

Neural Network ◽

Microwave Radiometer ◽

Radiosonde Data ◽

Training Dataset ◽

Cloud Base ◽

Optimal Method ◽

Cloud Radar ◽

Cloud Thickness ◽

Humidity Profiles ◽

Cloud Base Height

Abstract. This paper focuses on the retrieval of temperature and relative humidity profiles through combining ground-based microwave radiometer observations with those of millimeter-wavelength cloud radar. The cloud-base height and cloud thickness from the cloud radar were added into the atmospheric profile retrieval process, and a back propagation neural network method was used as the retrieval tool. Because substantial data are required to train a neural network, and microwave radiometer data are insufficient for this purpose, eight years of radiosonde data from Beijing were used as a database. The model MonoRTM was used to calculate the brightness temperature of the same channel as the microwave radiometer. Part of the cloud-base height and cloud thickness in the training dataset was also estimated using the radiosonde data. The accuracy of the results was analyzed by comparing with L-band sounding radar data, and quantified using the mean bias, root-mean-square error and correlation coefficient. The statistical results showed that inversion with cloud information was the optimal method. Compared with the inversion profiles without cloud information, the RMSE values after adding the cloud information were to a varying degree reduced for the vast majority of height layers. These reductions were particularly clear in layers with cloud present. The maximum reduction of RMSE for temperature was 2.2 K, and for the humidity profile was 16 %.

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